Student groups happy with tuition freeze, but want more assistance

Student groups have been told by the Parti Quebecois that the university tuition hikes scheduled to come into effect in the next few months will be rescinded, but that may not be enough.

On Wednesday the Cegep and University groups FECQ and FEUQ received calls from the PQ saying that the hikes would be cancelled, and although the new government did not specifically reach out to the umbrella group CLASSE, members of that group are happy with the decision.

However, CLASSE says it will be keeping up the pressure on government to help students.

"Naturally free education will have to come with further investments in our university system," said Jeremie Bedard-Wien.

"We can not only remove tuition, we have to improve the quality of education. What we have striven to prove in his campaign is that the two are not mutually exclusive."

To that end CLASSE is calling for yet another large protest in the streets of Montreal on Sept. 22.

CLASSE is demanding that Pauline Marois follow through with an idea she proposed earlier this year of holding a general summit on post-secondary funding and university financing.

The organization also wants the PQ government to fulfill a plan made by the Liberal government in the spring to improve bursaries and loans.